Speaking: presenting and interacting in Spanish
Speaking is assessed internally through two tasks: a prepared presentation in Spanish that communicates a personal response, and an interaction where you exchange information, ideas and opinions in everyday situations - meeting a new student, planning an outing, discussing weekend plans. Communication and range matter more than a flawless accent, but pronunciation, accuracy and interactive strategies all contribute.
The presentation
Speak for roughly one and a half to two minutes on a familiar topic: yourself, your family, a hobby, a trip. A personal response means opinions supported by reasons, not a list of facts. Push each statement further with «porque», «lo que más me gusta es», «sin embargo». Cover more than one time frame: present, near future («voy a + infinitive»), and one past event («el verano pasado fui», «lo pasé bien»).
The interaction
Prepare question forms on likely topics: ¿Qué haces los fines de semana? ¿Por qué te gusta? ¿Y tú? Answer in turns of two or three sentences, and ask at least one question of your own. Fillers such as «pues», «bueno», «es que…» buy thinking time without dropping into English.
Worked example
Weak: «Me gusta el fútbol. Es bueno.» Stronger: «Me encanta el fútbol porque es emocionante; juego con mis amigos los sábados y, aunque no soy muy bueno, me divierto mucho. El próximo verano voy a apuntarme a un equipo.» Reasoning: the second version adds an intensified opinion verb, a reason, a frequency marker, a concessive clause with «aunque», and a future plan - exactly the range the assessment schedule rewards.
Pronunciation
Spanish vowels are short and pure, never glided. H is silent, j sounds like a harsh English h, ll and y like English y, rr is trilled. In most of Spain z and ce/ci sound like "th"; in Latin America they sound like s. Stress the second-to-last syllable unless an accent or a final consonant indicates otherwise (hablo, habló, profesor).
Traps
- Reading a memorised script: delivery flattens and follow-up questions expose it.
- One-word answers in the interaction instead of extended turns.
- Never asking your partner anything; interaction requires initiating too.